Chris Christie to President Obama on ACA: Don’t be cute, don’t ‘lawyer it’
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has some friendly advice for President Barack Obama on his Affordable Care Act woes: Don’t be cute and don’t be a lawyer.
“Here’s what my suggestion would be to him. Don’t be so cute,” Christie told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “[W]hen you make a mistake, admit it. And, listen, if it was a mistake in 2009, if he was mistaken in 2009, 2010 on his understanding of how the law would operate, then just admit it to people.”
Christie was responding to news of the approximately 3.5 million consumers have received notices from their insurance companies in recent weeks cancelling their current plans, which has called into question the president’s promise that people can keep health care plans that they like.
“I think people would give any leader in that circumstance a lot of credit for just, you know, owning up to it instead of now trying to — like, don’t lawyer it,” Christie said. “People don’t like lawyers. I’m a lawyer.” (DelReal/Politico)
He’s right. Taking a step back and admitting the flaws would be the first step towards fixing it.
ACA is a good idea and will eventually work. Imagine all insurance companies competing with one another in a transparent market with like for like terms, and compare that with the limited and often baffling options presented to you year on year by your employer. Anyone who’s tried to compare plans from different companies knows it’s damn near impossible. Vendors love opaque markets with incomparable price points. Easier to bilk people.
ACA is actually a very “American” idea. Open and free marketplace etc etc. Not sure why the far Right is so against it.
Oh I remember. Because Obama.
the ‘right” as u continually harp and everyone with any seance sees the ACA for what it is a move to socialized medicine which has failed everywhere in the world . It is nothing more than giving more government control over our personal lives .The ACA is part of the long march to make the USA a third world country .
It has failed because it had no chance of success and now people are losing there healthcare all together .
There were so many other options to fix the US healthcare system and clearly at this point everyone realizes DC is incapable of managing such a large project . Like Xanadu in New Jersey the fact is the ACA is proof that everyone is DC is STUPID , so stupid they think they are smart.
First step is repeal , and then real healthcare reform needs to be taken and then people involved in the ACA need to be prosecuted including many members of congress who help promote this smoking pile of crap,
James, you mention “so many other options” but then veer back to the EVERYONE IN DC IS STUPID SEND THEM TO JAIL RAGE SMASH ANGRY tirade so popular with your ilk (by the way, I would take your post a little more seriously if you checked spelling and grammar, spacing etc).
Please outline one way to fix healthcare besides an open marketplace for coverage and services (doesn’t matter who runs it but you ostensibly want a neutral party in charge so you don’t get railroaded towards one particular provider).
You do understand the concept of efficient markets, right?
sorry Rob no rage more of a laugh they are just DUMB plain and simple and people are geting what they deserve . As for jail time why not hold a politician to the same standard as everyone else , these losers knew this thing was a bust , yet rammed it down everyone throats , so now no more healthcare .
You have to comprehend the inherent problems with third party payer systems to even know where to start .
In order to have choice people have to have choice , that means lighten up on mandates , allow health insurance sold across state lines , and tort reform just the tip of the ice berg but steps in the right direction . Obamacare is totally the opposite going in the wrong direction simply taking what wrong and making it worse . As for market places , market based insurance market places are just fine but government run “market places” are an oxymoron .
I think our Governor is being quite hypocritical in his “don’t lawyer it” statement. His posse of appointees are stacked with lawyers and his administration is quick to pull the trigger on litigation when he doesn’t get his way. The public has grown weary of our screwed up legal system and the “professionals” that perpetuate it.
I understand the problems with third party payer systems, not the least of which is that they add a layer of expense to the patient – provider economy. Aetna’s pre tax OI for the most recent quarter was $892m. That’s additional cost to both patients and doctors.
Agree with you re state lines but that actually runs counter to your anti-fed angle. The Fed would have to step in and negate all state and local laws (kind of like they do with substance abuse).
Tort is touchy but in general I agree with you there too, while I blame incompetent judges for awarding exorbitant sums of money for trivial injuries.
Having said all that, I still don’t see how ‘government facilitated” = “government run”. If we could tear down the constructs you mention, yes, we’d have a better shot at a functional and economically viable healthcare marketplace. Until then ACA is an attempt to bridge that gap. It’s not optimal but it’s a start.
I predict the emergence of a new class of market entrant that cuts the middleman out though (these are already popping up): Full service clinics that sell insurance directly to the consumer. Kind of like Kiaser Perminante but the other way around. This will have pitfalls too though as the desire for profit will conflict directly with service levels.
Lawyers ruin everything.
ACA is actually a very “American” idea. Open and free marketplace etc etc
ideologue alert…
I say this out of a certain level of respect for you rob, because I refuse to beleive that you are THAT stupid to actually think that the ACA is a free and open market place.
The ACA is exactly the opposite of a free and open marketplace.
For starters all of these people would not be losing the insurance plans that they like if the marketplace was free and open.